


The Minds of the Madmen

by Grac3



Series: Loki and the Doctor [5]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Gen, Speciesism, Spoilers for Episode: s03e11 Utopia, Spoilers for Episode: s04e17-18 The End of Time, Spoilers for Episode: s08e11 Dark Water, mild disturbing imagery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-03
Updated: 2017-03-03
Packaged: 2018-09-28 02:19:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10066004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Grac3/pseuds/Grac3
Summary: While watching his not-brother fight a man of iron from a clifftop, a new - or very old - Doctor whisks Loki away to Gallifrey to meet an old 'friend' of his. But the Doctor's intentions are not as clear-cut as he would have Loki believe.





	1. The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway

It had been a year since he had heard the sound, and as he turned around he knew exactly what he was going to see there.

The door to the time ship was thrown open, and a man he had only seen in a photograph stepped out: a tall man with a wild mane of untameable brown curls and a large, toothy grin.

"Ah, wonderful!" the Doctor exclaimed, walking over to Loki and leaving the door of the TARDIS wide open. "I had wondered that I had taken a wrong turn somewhere."

Loki's brow furrowed as he stood from the rock upon which he was perched. "You wished to find me?"

"Indeed I did." the Time Lord nodded.

He had only just finished speaking when a woman walked out of the TARDIS. She was smiling, her brilliant green eyes shining from her face; but the smile soon melted away when she began to take in her surroundings: the darkness, the rocks, and – as she wrapped her arms around herself, hunching slightly – the cold.

When she reached the two of them, she held out a hand to Loki. "Sarah Jane Smith."

Loki flashed her a wide smile as he took her hand in his, bowing to press a kiss to her knuckles. "Loki Laufeyson."

He took only a little pride in the blush that rose up her cheeks as he released her hand, but the feeling was squashed at the odd look the Doctor gave him.

Loki turned to the Time Lord. "What brings you to this miserable corner of your beloved planet?"

"It's not so bad," the Doctor shrugged. "New York can be lovely in the winter."

"We're not in New York."

The Doctor winked. "Not yet."

A small shape appeared in the distant sky over the Doctor's shoulder: a figure floating down from the heavens with a large piece of material spread out over his head. They were heading in their direction.

"What did you wish to discuss, Doctor?"

The Doctor's brow furrowed; he turned to see what Loki was looking at, spotting the figure floating down from the sky. He nodded in understanding; Sarah merely looked resignedly confused.

The Doctor rocked on the balls of his feet before replying. "I actually would like to ask you a favour."

Loki's first instinct was to decline. After all, this was the man who had left him to rot in one of the darkest, coldest wastelands in the universe. But, then again, this was also not the man who knew anything about that yet – and wouldn't be for centuries – and there was still enough left of the Loki from before he invited the Frost Giants to interrupt Thor's coronation to remember that the Doctor had, at one point, only wanted to look out for him.

"Ask away."

The Doctor beamed once more. "We'll be gone a mere few seconds," he assured the trickster, beginning to make his way over to the TARDIS.

Loki and Sarah Jane followed the Time Lord, crossing the rocky path to the blue box sitting silently on the top of the cliff. With a single, flared movement of his arm, the Doctor retrieved the key for the TARDIS from within the cavernous pockets of his long, brown coat.

The door of the TARDIS creaked as it opened, giving way to a brand new control room – or an incredibly old control room.

"You see," the Doctor began, as Sarah Jane closed the door behind them and the Time Lord pulled levers and pushed buttons, "there is a friend of mine-"

He was cut off by Sarah Jane as she walked around Loki to take her place at the Doctor's side. " _Friend_?" she exclaimed with disbelief. "This is a man who has tried to kill you on multiple occasions, and you refer to him as a friend?"

The Doctor was silent, his eyes downcast, as he set the TARDIS into flight. Only once the time rotor was moving up and down and they were on the move did he speak.

"He was once."

The Doctor stared forlornly at the TARDIS console for a moment, then shook his head, his curls bouncing around his head.

"There's only a short window of time in which I can do this, and if we reach Gallifrey a minute too late, the High Council will rescind the permission they so _graciously_ extended to us."

Loki blanched at the sudden mention of the Doctor's home planet, and the casual manner with which it had been delivered. So this Doctor, so early in his personal timeline compared to the others whom Loki had met, did not know what would become of Gallifrey, nor the part that he would play in its downfall.

He was beginning to remember just why it was so important that he didn't give anything about the Doctor's future away.

The TARDIS travelled for another five minutes or so, the ride smoother than the trickster ever imagined it could be in the time ship. Soon, the time rotor stopped moving, and there was a definitive _thump_ as the ship landed.

Loki turned and headed towards the door, taking long strides, ready to burst through…

But the Doctor was faster, reaching his side and placing his hand on Loki's chest to stop him from advancing any further. Loki scowled, turning up to face the Doctor and demand him to remove his hand, but the Time Lord spoke first.

"I should really be the first to leave," he explained, slightly wary. "The other Time Lords are not as… hospitable to those who are not from Gallifrey."

Anger flared within Loki; he had half a mind to burst through the doors and blast any Time Lord who attempted hostility towards him with his magic…

But he didn't have enough time to start a war on Gallifrey while he was still preparing for one on Earth. Instead, he swallowed his pride, raised himself to his full height, and let the Doctor go first with a nod of his head.

The Doctor lowered his hand from Loki's chest and turned to the doors of the TARDIS, opening them slowly and peering out.

"Good afternoon," he told whoever was standing on the other side.

"Where is the alien you have brought to converse with the Master?" a voice outside barked.

The Doctor turned back to Loki, gesturing him forward. Longing for the days – soon to come – when he would no longer have to take orders from anyone, Loki obeyed, following the Doctor out of the TARDIS and standing by his side.

He had stepped out of the TARDIS and into a long, white corridor, the bright colour enough to offend his eyes after a mere few moments. It was not even punctuated with any other splashes of colour, for the only other person in the corridor was a Time Lord standing just in front of them, wearing long crimson robes with an absurd collar.

The Time Lord looked the trickster up and down, his scrutinizing gaze making Loki's fingers itch to reach for his daggers – but, luckily for him, he turned back to the Doctor before the urge became too strong.

"He will have ten minutes," the Time Lord explained, "no more, no less. If any… funny business occurs, the High Council will hold you personally responsible."

The Doctor scoffed. "The High Council can only execute me, and look where that nearly got them last time. Omega was not happy."

The Time Lord's eyes narrowed, but he said nothing.

"Follow me," he grumbled, before turning on his heel and heading down the corridor.


	2. Foxtrot

"Excuse me!"

The three men stopped in their tracks, turning to face the TARDIS, which a rather irate Sarah Jane was exiting and slamming the wooden door closed behind her as she made her way over to stand between the Doctor and Loki.

The Time Lord leading them cast her a disdainful eye before turning to the Doctor.

"Is she to converse with the Master as well?" he asked, irritated.

"She is not. But surely that does not mean that she must stay behind?"

The Time Lord narrowed his eyes at the Doctor. "The High Council permitted you but one alien for this venture-"

"And I have already told you," the Doctor interrupted, his voice dropping to a deep rumble, "the High Council does not scare me. If they believe they can find someone else who knows the Master as well as I, then by all means, send for them and let me leave and continue on my way, for there are several reasons that I am doing this, and the High Council's benefit is not one of them. If not, then allow me to continue as I see fit, and that means Sarah joins us."

The Time Lord didn't move a muscle throughout the Doctor's speech, but Loki could see the cowardice in his eyes just as clearly as if he had shrunk away in fear. The Doctor, it would seem, held the same authority on Gallifrey that Loki himself longed for on Earth.

With a swift nod, the Time Lord led them down corridor after corridor, all bright white and identical, until they finally reached a large, silver door, and stopped.

"A Seclusion Cell?" the Doctor asked, looking the door up and down. "I'm impressed. Though you have to realise that if you managed to get the Master in one of these, it is because he wants to be there."

The Time Lord blanched, clearing his throat awkwardly. "Yes, well… Even so. Only one visitor is permitted in the Seclusion Cell. You cannot go in with the…" the Time Lord paused, sending a disgusted look in Loki's direction, " _alien_."

"I am well aware of the situation," the Doctor nodded. He turned to Loki. "Is that alright?"

Loki narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Who is this man?"

"A war criminal." The Time Lord supplied immediately. "He has slaughtered millions in search of… nothing in particular."

There was a niggling sense of… _something_ – something that he remembered from lazy sunlit afternoons on Asgard with Thor, with playing pranks on the dull diplomats and politicians in the palace corridors, and with the magic lessons he had received from his mother – that made Loki almost wince.

But then he remembered the cause – the Tesseract, the Earth, the revenge on his not-brother – and the feeling disappeared as soon as it had appeared.

"And what do you need me to do?"

"Talk to him. Find his motivation."

"And you think me the best person for the job?"

The Doctor smiled a little, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "I believe you are. And I hope that he is too."

That part of Loki's heart that he had thought had died in the Sanctuary suddenly flared up again, filling with a sense of hope that almost made him gasp in pain.

He remembered the staff waiting for him back on Earth, and its beautiful glowing blue Gem, and shoved the feeling down.

"Then I hope I do not let you down."

The Time Lord reached into the pocket of his ridiculous robe and pulled out a necklace with a circular pendant on the end, upon which circular symbols were drawn which Loki recognised as Gallifreyan. The Time Lord inserted the pendant into a slot in the wall next to the door, and the door slid open from the floor into the wall above, revealing an almost pitch black room beyond.

"There is a glass wall in the room," the Time Lord explained, "beyond which the Master is being kept. A door can be opened in the glass wall. The Master will not be able to see you until you open this door. Once you are inside, you will be locked in until you are finished."

"I understand."

The Time Lord nodded, and gestured for Loki to go inside. Loki turned to the Doctor, who gave him an encouraging nod, and the trickster took a step forward.

Once he was inside, the door closed behind him, sliding down and locking him in. The first 'room' was a long, thin corridor, with three blank walls and one made of glass on his left. If not for the lights on in the white room beyond the glass, he would have been in pitch blackness.

Loki turned to the wall, looking through to the room beyond. A man with a short beard and a bored expression on his face was sitting on the floor, his back resting against the back wall. On either side of him, rings were embedded in the wall, from which chains hung, ending in manacles around the man's wrists.

The Master didn't move as he sat there. He remained as straight-backed as the throne on Asgard, the corners of his lips turned down and his chin tilted upwards.

The trickster pushed the separating door open and headed in to where the Master was waiting. The Master turned his head in his direction, his expression unchanging.

"And who are you?" he asked, his voice smooth.

Loki forced his lips to not curl, the only thing making it possible was the knowledge that – one day soon – everyone in the universe would know his name.

"I am Loki," he said, straightening himself to his full height.

"Burdened with glorious purpose," the Master smirked. "I know you. I just didn't know you were the Doctor's latest pet project."

"Pet project?"

"Well what do you think you're here for?"

Loki opened his mouth to reply, but he was cut off.

"He told you that you are to be my cure, did he not? I assume he neglected to tell you that I am to be yours as well."

"What are you talking about?" Loki wanted nothing more than to wipe the smirk off of his face.

"Tell me, why do you think he brought you here?"

"To speak to you. To find out your motivations-"

The Master chuckled. "No, Loki. Why do you think he brought _you_ here? He has had many companions over the years, and I dare say he'll have many more. Why, out of all of them, do you think he picked you for this task? The orphaned runt who attempted to destroy his entire race? It is because of why I am here."

Loki's lip curled, his hands balling into fists at his sides. The Master's gaze flicked to the trickster's hands and then back up to his face, his lips quirking into an annoying smirk.

"Are you going to attack me? With magic? Don't you even want to know why I am here?"

Loki ground his teeth together until it hurt. "Why?" he growled.

The Master grinned. "Why, I tried to destroy a planet."

Loki wanted to race across the room and throttle this… _Master_. But that little part of him that he had thought long dead held him back, and he couldn't help but blame the Doctor. Instead, he hissed,

"How do you know these things about me?"

The Master held out his hands, shrugging dramatically. "It matters not how I know these things. Only that I do. And, more importantly, that the Doctor does."

Loki said nothing.

The Master let out a chuckle. "Oh, dear," he teased. "That sceptre really has done a number on you, hasn't it?" He patted the floor next to him.

Loki's eyes flicked to the offered seat, then back to the Master. He raised an eyebrow at him.

"You may as well be comfortable."

Loki let out a huff of breath and went and sat down next to the Time Lord.

"And what is this plan the Doctor has for the two of us?"

The Master did not reply. The smirk grew on his face, and with each second that passed, Loki felt his care as regards to what the Chitauri would do to him if he was late for their rendezvous in New York diminish significantly.

The Master turned to Loki. "You cannot figure it out on your own? Do you not know the Doctor?"

Loki wasn't sure why, but that question hurt. Loki had never once considered the Doctor to be a friend; merely an acquaintance who turned up every now and then. Who helped him realise his brother's folly.

Who saved his life and then left him to the Chitauri.

Loki grit his teeth. "No. I do not."

The Master's gaze softened somewhat.

The Time Lord took in a deep breath before speaking again.

"He means to fix us. To have us fix each other."

"For what purpose?"

"He believes himself to know us better than we know ourselves. Or, rather, to know our potential."

"He does have a time machine," Loki offered. That earned him a small but genuine smile from the Master.

"As do I. Yet I do not pretend to know whether or not the Doctor could – or should – be better."

"So we must merely accept that he is the good guy to our bad guy?"

The Master let out a deep sigh. "Only if it is the truth."

"And is it?"

The Master went quiet, suddenly seemingly very interested with a loose threat hanging from the end of his jacket sleeve. He twiddled the thread between his forefinger and his thumb, twisting it from left to right and then back again.

Loki watched the movement, mesmerized, thoughts whizzing through his head.

Was he wrong in what he was doing? Should he attempt to take over the Earth? Did he have the right? He told Thor that he was better than the humans – and surely he was?

But he hadn't always thought like that. He remembered mourning the collateral victims of the Destroyer in that small town in New Mexico. He remembered being bested by a human even when he'd used his magic in battle. He remembered sacrificing himself for the sake of a human life.

But he also remembered the eighty lives he had taken over the past few days. The tiny human minds he had remodelled to suit his own needs. The satisfaction he'd had when standing above a crowd, grinning at the sight of them all on their knees.

He turned from the Master, his gaze falling to the floor. The white was so bright that he almost thought he saw a blue light flashing in his field of vision.

"Maybe we do need the Doctor."

"Ha!"

Both the Master and Loki jumped at the sudden bark of laughter to their left. They both turned, to see a man standing there who hadn't been there before. He had short blonde hair and crazed eyes, and was wearing jeans and a black hoodie with a strange black bracelet on his wrist.

"You don't need the Doctor!" The man exclaimed, a massive grin on his face as he took a step forward. His foot had barely touched the ground when his skin blinked out of existence, revealing a bright blue skull glowing underneath.


	3. And Then There Were Three

Loki immediately raised his hand, ready to send a blast of magic towards the stranger who was still advancing towards them.

The Master reached out and grabbed Loki's forearm, holding it firmly in place.

Confused, Loki turned to the Time Lord next to him, ignoring the stranger's crazed, lopsided smile.

The Master was staring straight at the stranger, his eyes wide and his lips parted slightly. The stranger seemed to relish in it.

"D-don't," the Master stuttered.

Loki scowled, ripping his arm free from the Master's grip. "I am the future ruler of Earth," he hissed. "You do not tell me what to do."

The stranger guffawed, throwing his head back and showing off his brilliantly bright teeth. Before he looked down, his skin flickered away once more, revealing the bones underneath and a pair of wide, staring eyes. Loki fought the urge to curl his lips in disgust as the stranger turned to him.

"Future ruler of Earth?" he laughed, wrapping an arm around his middle and leaning forward in his mirth. " _You_? And what makes you think that you can do what I have tried so many times to and failed?"

Beside him, the Master blinked sadly. "You have yet to conquer Earth?"

The stranger reeled on the Master quickly, laughter replaced with a hateful glare. He uncurled his arm from around his middle and sidestepped closer to the wall. Reaching out with his hand, he banged his palm against the wall four times in quick succession, repeating the pattern twice more before leaning forward into the Master's face.

"What do you think?" He all but shouted, spittle flying from his lips. The Master instinctively moved his head back, but was unable to avoid being splashed. With disdain, he pulled the handkerchief from his top pocket and wiped at his moustache.

The stranger straightened up again, his expression suddenly becoming pained as he began to slap himself in the temple in patterns of four.

"What is going on?" Loki demanded, turning to the Master. The Time Lord was staring at the floor before him. "Who is that man?"

The Master pursed his lips, tucking his handkerchief away. "He is me."

Loki looked over at the stranger, who was still hitting himself in the same pattern. He took in his shabby exterior: the rough stubble that hadn't quite become a full beard, the tattered jeans with threads hanging from the bottom, the baggy hoody.

He turned back to the man next to him, with the accent almost as posh as his own and the perfectly tailored exterior somehow maintained even behind bars. He briefly wondered if he would be able to keep up appearances should he ever be incarcerated.

"Are you sure?" Loki asked sceptically.

The Master let out a humourless breath of laughter, his glazed eyes still fixated on the floor. "I wish I could say otherwise. But the Blinovitch Limitation Effect is strong at work in this room."

"Oh!" the future Master suddenly exclaimed, balling his hands into fists either side of his head and grinning down at his present self. "The Blinovitch Limitation Effect? Still throwing around words from the Academy, he must be _so proud_ of you."

The Master raised his gaze from the floor, eyeing his future self with disdain. "How do I ever become you?"

The future Master laughed again, though there was no humour behind the sound; it seemed to erupt from him, in loud bark-like bursts, as his hands dropped to his sides and his shoulders tensed.

"Guess," he hissed.

The Master sighed. "I can only imagine that you turned your back on the Doctor. That, in return, he forsook you, and left you to your fate."

The future Master opened his mouth to say something, but the Master wasn't listening; instead, he turned to Loki, a deep sadness rolling in his eyes.

"Do you see why the Doctor has brought you here? He means to make an example of me, for your sake. Do not make the same mistakes that he did." He nodded in the direction of his future self.

The future Master groaned, slumping, his knees sagging as he sighed and angled his face to the ceiling. "No…" he moaned, shaking his head. "No, no, no, no, _no_!" He stamped his foot on the ground and glared down at the Master.

"You don't get it do you?" he asked harshly, his face flickering once more. He walked closer to his past self, dropping to his knees not far from his Oxfords. The Master made a strange movement, almost as though he meant to recoil away. "There is _nothing_ you can do. Nothing either of you can do. You – are – doomed."

The Master pursed his lips into an angry line as he regarded the madman before him, but Loki couldn't ignore the flicker of fear in his eyes. "Time can be rewritten," he mumbled, though he didn't sound so sure.

The future Master chuckled, the sound no more than a breath, as his lips spread into a wide grin – the most genuine look of glee that Loki had seen him wear so far.

"That is true," he agreed, nodding his head. "But you can only rewrite your own timeline. Can you rewrite the Doctor's? Oh, no," he continued before he could give himself the chance to reply. "No, the Doctor would never allow that. The Doctor is never wrong; his timeline is _sacred_. No, you can't touch the Doctor's timeline…"

Loki felt the irritation in him reach breaking point. "What are you talking about?"

For the first time, the future Master rounded on Loki, and there was something new in his eyes, something which sickened Loki to his very core: pity.

"Oh, my dear Frost Giant," the future Master simpered; Loki growled. "You think you can conquer Earth. You think the Doctor would let that happen."

"The Doctor can't take on Thanos."

"But the Doctor can take away your conviction. I can see him now." The future Master changed his voice, adopting an Estuary accent.

"'If you do this, if you do manage to take over the Earth, what then? You'll have six billion people under your control, oh, yes, the whole of humanity. But what about when they rebel? What about when they rise up and take the power from you? Because I tell you, when humanity rise up, they will be a force to be reckoned with. They will not stop until you are defeated, and you will be defeated. Because you might be able to terrorise one city, and you might be able to conquer one city, but when all that's over, you'll have the entire world to answer to. And if you think you're going after them, then you've got another thing coming – because you'll have to go through me first'."

The future Master ended his speech, dissolving into a fit of giggles. "You'll never stand a chance. And you better hope that he's in a forgiving mood, or you'll end up just – like – me."

His skull flickered into view once more.

Loki was about to retort, when the Master beside him got to it first, his voice soft and fearful.

"The Doctor did this to you?" he whispered.

"Finally!" the future Master cheered, throwing his hands up in the air in celebration as he tilted his head back. "Gold star!" He looked back over to his past self, lowering his arms.

"You two are sitting here, thinking that the Doctor is this great protector. That he will be the saviour of all of the lost villains. The Time Lord and the trickster. The would-be kings."

Loki tried not to flinch at the title that Thor had given him not an hour ago, hundreds – possibly thousands – of years in the future and half a galaxy away.

"You're deceiving yourselves… Ah!"

The future Master's skull flickered into view once more, and he scrunched his eyes shut, clutching at his head as he fell backwards onto his bum.

Concern crossing his face, the Master reached out to his future self's shoulder, only for him to scramble backwards as fast and as far as he could – which wasn't very far at all.

"N-no!" he screamed, staring at his past self's hand as though it was a poison-coated blade. "Y-you said it yourself – Blinovitch Limitation Effect. You can't touch me. You _know_ that!"

"It would relieve your pain," the Master told him simply, his voice thick and deep.

The future Master stared down at the hand that was still outstretched towards him, his own hands still clutching at the sides of his head, his fingers buried deep into his short, blonde hair.

His skin disappeared once more. He winced, his breaths becoming more erratic as his pain increased. He took a deep breath, and nodded, reaching out and taking his past self's hand.

The effect was immediate: the future Master screamed in agony, his entire skeleton becoming visible wherever there was a piece of exposed skin.

The Master let go, ripping his hand away as he grabbed onto Loki's sleeve and hauled them both away. He brought them as far away from the future Master as possible, as he collapsed onto his back and began convulsing repulsively.

"What's happening to him?" Loki asked in disgust, as a golden glow began to shine around his hands.

"You might want to cover your eyes," the Master warned, as the glow began to envelope the future Master's entire body.

Loki paid no heed to the advice, watching in wonder as the man on the floor seemed to explode in golden light: it erupted from his hands, his feet, his head. Inside of it, the man was still screaming, but the voice was changing; it was becoming higher, stronger, more… feminine?

The light died down as quickly as it had begun, fading into nothing and leaving an unconscious body behind – an unconscious female body.

"Good grief," the Master gasped, staring down at the woman before him, still wearing the hoodie and jeans of the blonde man.

It was only a moment later when the woman jerked, her body twitching as her eyes shot open.

"Well, that was different…" She breathed, her tongue rolling over her accent. "Ooh, Scottish. That's a new one…" She lifted her head and looked down at her body. Her eyes widened at the sight of her chest. "That's _definitely_ a new one… Two new ones…"

She sat up, pressing both of her hands against her chest as though to check that it was real. Seemingly upon becoming satisfied that it was, she turned to the two men behind her, focusing on the shell-shocked Master beside the trickster. She smiled up at him.

"Well, this is wonderful!" She exclaimed, reaching for the black bracelet on her wrist. She pressed it, and disappeared in a flash of blue light.

The Master stared at the space where his future self had been standing. There was a silence in the room for a few seconds, before he turned to Loki.

"You see what my future will hold?" he murmured. "Do not let yourself fall into the same trap. You have the chance to save yourself."

Loki shook his head, fighting to keep his lip from curling. "There is only one way to escape Thanos, and I no longer wish to die." He turned to the Master. "The Doctor has failed. I will rule the Earth."


End file.
